Till Next We Meet [Mass Market Paperback]

I was looking forward to reading this book since the buzz about it has been generally good and (in my opinion) when Karen Ranney is good she can be one of the *best*. The good news is that "Till We Next Meet" is a sweet, well-written tale with a Cyrano de Bergerac-style plot and a fine, attractive hero. The bad news is that it took me absolutely *forever* to read this book and that is usually an indication that story is not quite as compelling as it could be. The characters never really engaged me and the story seemed to hum along without a great deal of tension until the rather flat denouement where the villain is revealed.

Catherine Dunnan has only been married for a month when her handsome husband goes off to war, but she comes to love Harry deeply while he is away through their very lovely correspondence. What she does not realize is that the letters that she treasures are not from her worthless, philandering husband at all, but penned in his name at his request by his commanding officer, Colonel Moncrief. Moncrief, who began writing out of pity for a woman married to a cad, has become captivated by Catherine's warm and tender words and corresponds with her in an effort to ease his own loneliness. When Harry is killed and Moncrief unexpectedly inherits a dukedom following his older brother's death, Moncrief pays a condolence visit to Catherine and finds the Harry's widow nearly paralyzed with her grief. When circumstances force Moncrief to act to protect Catherine, he takes her back with him to his family home and tries to begin healing her grief while not revealing her husband's true nature or his own role in their correspondence.

Moncrief is a very fine hero--handsome, honorable to a fault, passionate and sensitive--almost a bit too perfect, in fact. His only flaw is his deception about who wrote the letters, an act initially of kindness and then of love, so not really such a black mark against him at all. Catherine is a bit harder to relate to due to her blindness to Harry's true character and inability to appreciate Moncrief's sterling qualities (or recognize him as her true correspondent.) She snaps out of her clinical depression midway through the book and becomes a more satisfying romantic heroine, but all the black nightgowns and grief over her worthless husband gets a bit wearying after a while. To complicate matters, someone is trying to kill Catherine, requiring Moncrief to act as her protector (since Catherine clearly is really a horrible judge of character!)

The letters are really very lovely and the eventual romance between Catherine and Moncrief very passionate and satisfying, although I was never a bit concerned that Catherine would not forgive Moncrief when she discovered the deception about the letters. The story seemed at times to lack momentum and the ending (particularly the wrap-up of the mystery of Catherine's "accidents") was rather implausible with the villain's motivation being questionable. There is a scene near the end of the story of bizarrely excessive forgiveness of a character who has been complicit in trying to harm the hero and heroine that just was jarring to me.

In summary, this is a well-written historical romance with a promising set-up and wonderfully sensitive and honorable hero. I would not consider "Till We Next Meet" to be one of Karen Ranney's *best* books, but it is entertaining tale with a touching love story and is well worth reading.

This is the first book by Karen Ranney that I have read. I am always looking for a new and talented author to add to my favorites list. I was really pleased after finishing "Till Next We Meet" as it contained all the elements I select books to read, things such as: passion, intensity, deep character development, an entertaining plot and sizzling love scenes and true emotion by hero and heroine by the books end. This book had it all.

A few things I found the most compelling in this story were:

1) How the book focused heavily on the letters written between heroine Catherine and her husband Harry (or so she thought) while he was away in North America doing military work. The letters were passionate and deep and beautiful. You could tell the two were opening up their hearts and minds fully to the other during their time writing to one another. A couple who barely knew one another after their marriage changed with long time correspondence to a couple who were soul mates by the time the letters ended. This sharing of their letters with the reader was a nice touch and was definitely unique and refreshing in a love story.

2) I liked how realistic Captain Moncrief/The Duke of Lymond our hero's emotions were. He was oozing loneliness from his childhood and adult life and the letters he secretly penned to Catherine opened up his heart and mind in ways he never believed. He was a strong man - made so by the ups and downs of life. Love made him complete. He truly adored Catherine from afar via her letters to him and his to her. I especially enjoyed his "honest" reaction to meeting her the first time: she was gaunt, pale, bed ridden, high on laudanum and had stringy brown hair and empty brown eyes - she was not the beauty he pictured in his mind. She was not the perfect woman from his letters and he wanted to be gone from her quickly thinking he lost his mind to dream up a woman that clearly didn't exist from a years worth of correspondence. I liked this touch by the author - it made Moncrief a very much a real man. For once...she wasn't the perfect princess of every man's fantasy land. The dream Moncrief had created simply didn't exist. Fortunately...as the book went on, the real Catherine re-emerged from the fog of pain, drugs and loss and she became greater than any dream Moncrief could ever imagine. She became again everything he ever wanted but, didn't think he would find. Moncrief is truly a great hero. He was not a rake, rogue, scoundrel, gambler, womanizer or debaucher of young gals. He was truly what a man should be when you hear the word, "hero". Sigh...

3) The love scenes between Catherine and Moncrief were wonderful. I liked how she didn't want to be intimate with him in the beginning because she couldn't let go of the past and her late husband but, Moncrief very wisely played with her mind more than her body and that caused interest and attraction to begin. Once they did get together, the fireworks flew like the fourth of July. The scenes were tastefully written, powerful and believable. I especially liked how KR made clear that Moncrief almost loved her more than he desired her and it showed in his gentle, kind and giving ways. That is the true test of a man's feelings - when it surpasses the sexual. Catherine took some time to heal and learn that she needed to give back all she had been given. Fortunately, Catherine over-came the past and learned to adore, respect and admire Moncrief as he deserved as time went on.

4) The side characters of Catherine's late husband Harry, her housekeeper Glynneth, the local Vicar, sister-in-laws to Moncrief of Julianna and Hortensia and others made the plot rich and inviting. These characters all played side roles to the story, some more important and interesting than others. Glynneth's position is disclosed fully by the books end and her background is very entertaining.

5) Character development was deep and true and played out well in this book. Both Catherine and Moncrief became much better people by the end of the story. I liked how they took their past and all the mistakes, mourned for their losses but, found a way to move on and make a future together. A much better future. It may have been painful along the way but, their growth was real and appealing.

6) I liked how the truth about the letters worked out at the end and the discovery of the real Glynneth. There was no shouting matches, storming away or stomping off to a pity party. Catherine took all the lies and deceptions in stride and found a way to work out the issues. She handled the truth with dignity and courage as a great heroine should.

I give this book a hearty two thumbs up or as ratings go....4 plus stars! I would like to give it 5 stars but, I am picky with giving a perfect rating to any book. I only give that to really, really rare finds. This book came close though! If you have not read this author before, do pick her up. This one was definitely worth the lack of sleep I got reading it all night long! Enjoy!

I like this author very much, and it is a very sweet, wonderful love story. I rarely write review due to my English limit, but I would like to give my thoughts based on another review for this book - the reviewer was concerned about the title: "Till Next We Meet" has the same meaning as "Until Next We Meet". The preposition 'Till" was used correctly for the title; would have been the same if the preposition "Until" had been used. A similar title was published long before, written by others: "Till We Meet Again" by Judith Krantz; "Till the Stars Fall" by Kathleen Gilles, etc.

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